Lifestyle/Community
Jewish Achiever Awards heading for final straight
A record number of 250 nominations for this year’s Absa Jewish Achievers Awards have been received from the community at large. Earlier this week, the Board of Directors of the SA Jewish Report and representative of the Jewish Report’s staff, found themselves hard at work to establish shortlists for a winner for this year’s non-business awards, comprising the Lifetime Achievement Award in honour of Helen Suzman; the KIA Community Service Award; the Arts Science, Sports and Culture Award; and the Chivas Humanitarian Award in Honour of Chief Rabbi Cyril Harris, respectively.
GEOFF SIFRIN
The immensely high calibre of the nominations, drawing from a wide range of top class achievers, attests to the unbelievably strong mix of successful people that this country has produced and the list was submitted to a rigorous process of decision-making.
The winners of these prestigious categories will be contacted by the organisers of the Absa Jewish Achiever Awards committee, to confirm their availability for the event, and their names will be announced in the next several weeks, in the lead-up to the event, which promises to be the social event of the year on the Jewish communal calendar, and takes place at Vodacom World Dome in Midrand on August 24.
Still on the cards is the shortlist for the listed and unlisted business award, which will be judged by a panel of authoritative business leaders, and audited by Grant Thornton, within the next few weeks. The results of this part of the Jewish Achievers will be announced at the Achievers Awards gala event itself.
Previous winners of the non-business awards have included Selma and Jules Browde (Lifetime Achievement); Alec Wapnick of Octodec (Lifetime Achievement); Johnny Clegg (Arts, Science, Sport and Culture); Gerald Leissner (Community Service); Rabbi Moshe Silberhaft (Community Service); William Kentridge (Arts, Science, Sport and Culture); former SA President Nelson Mandela (Humanitarian) and Archbishop Emeritus Desmond Tutu (Humanitarian).